


At Least It Was Her

by Robo_Sammiches



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robo_Sammiches/pseuds/Robo_Sammiches
Summary: After Nobuyuki comes back terribly injured from a recent yokai hunt, Emma finds out there's much he has been keeping from her. A great deal of monsters lurk beneath an "impure" heritage.
Kudos: 1





	At Least It Was Her

**Author's Note:**

> A roleplay featuring my own OC, Nobuyuki Ienaka, and witchfall's Emma Ibori!

The gauze scratched softly as it was pulled from its roll, sunlight peeking through the window of Big One Botanicals' private lounge. With his shirt slung over the back of the sofa, Nobuyuki took the end of the gauze in his teeth before starting to wrap the bandage over his left shoulder, then starting to cover his pectorals. The antibiotic was applied thin sheet across his second-degree burns, as recommended by the healers. If the most difficult part wasn't trying to clean up the weeping blisters that had broken, it was trying to see what he was doing through the surgical tape between his eyes and across his nose. With gauze around his upper arms and wrists already, he pinned the bandage, raising to view his work in the mirror. Of course, his shoulders slumped upon seeing that it was lopsided. 'I should get help,' was a thought that crossed his mind, but he wouldn't admit to it outwardly. It was bad enough the others of Kaen-no-Tsunami, the newly founded organization of his brothers and sisters, had to see him like this.

Behind Nobuyuki, Emma appeared in the doorway. Arms crossed. Eyes unreadable.

"You have a lot of explaining to do."

The semi-jocular tone betrays little of the tension she still holds in her body - though the exhaustion is impossible to mistake. She is in her more usual fatigues now, revealing her own minor scrapes and scratches garnered from helping the group escape. But so much had been revealed in relatively short time... that Nobu and many of her co-workers would be called to fight in order to preserve their livelihood, and that what they were fighting was no Spoken being but an actual, gods-given demon creature.

And...it was her first visit to the Eastern continent, on top of all that. Emma was reeling. She did not, however, know how to show it.

She enters with little other fanfare, looking upon his bandages -- but there is the minor break in her stoic facade. If she had not frozen up, would he have been as hurt? If she knew how to fight Oni, would it have been like this?

"It's crooked," she says instead. "Why are you doing this by yourself?"

At the very least, it was Emma, but kami did he wish it was under different circumstances and she was asking different questions. He turned abruptly, lightly muscled abdomen flexing as he looked to Emma. He didn't want to give the pathetic expression of 'please don't make me say more,' but he forced himself to. "I've told you what I. . ." For some reason, he trailed off. /Come on, Nobuyuki, grow a pair!/ A sigh escaped him instead. "It's a lot more complicated than it seems," he replied. /No shit, Hildibrand./

Finally, he opted for a summary. "We were threatened for a long time by this yokai. . . she forced us into racketeering. Garleans closed off the trade route, but it's since reopened. We own her salt company now. The Akabana-kai, what's more." He fidgeted with his bandages uncomfortable the entire time, the gauze around his chest finally loosening. "Can you just help me with this?" Dodging the question narrowly. Nice.

Emma grunts in assent, though to what she keeps a mystery. To how complicated it is? To helping him? She does, in fact, help him with little other questions regarding the injuries. Bodily harm is straightforward and fixable. This she can manage. She straightens and tightens the bandages with hands clearly used to performing such mending work (on herself, at any rate). The movements are firm but gentle, though would likely have Nobu wincing just a tad from her strength. "Wounds like this are hard to treat by yourself," she says plainly. And then, added somewhat sheepishly: "I've tried."

She lets her gaze rest on him for a long, improper moment. Nobu reminds her of the stories Syhrwyda would tell about mythical sea nymphs. They look as delicate as sea glass, and yet have killed more men than any pirate.

"So were y'all pirates of a sort?" Her tone once again attempts some sort of joking tone. But her eyes are shadowed in thought. "...I giss I ain't as perceptive as I thought, not knowin' y'all had other things goin' on behind closed doors and what."

How she feels about that, she is still sorting through -- and that may be obvious in her expression. But the facts remain: She is still here, and she still went with them to protect them even after learning such news. So it clearly wasn't a breaking point....yet, at least.

Nobuyuki scowled lightly at the way the gauze brushed his burns, but were kept firm in place. It was another thing he wouldn't admit, but this was the worst he'd ever really been beaten up. No sparring could compare to it, given the minor cuts and bruises he'd received in the past. Emma could notice his jaw is still bruised in one area and the underside of his chin was slightly swollen, though she likely wouldn't know it was unrelated. "Amelia saw to me," he answered, canting his head to give Emma leverage to wrapping him up. "She and Kosei mended me. I'm just. . . dealing with the aftercare." The aftercare? Or the fallout?

When Emma let her gaze fall upon him, he met it in an atypical gesture. Eye contact was no prevalent in Hingan culture, save for signs of rudeness or even intimacy. He mouthed a soft 'what,' his lips moving but not sound coming out as his brow worked a little. He attempted to seem bothered, but his eyes roamed her face. Her soft freckles. The straight scar on the bridge of her nose. Her amber eyes. Her round beauty mark. His own visage was pale, even without makeup. Amidst his bruised, smooth features was the long pattern of surgical tape that patched him together. Emma was close enough to see the dark stitches under that came across the long gash between his eyes. Then, when his sight rested on her full lips, he turned away. Likely to shield his conflicted expression.

"I suppose it was something like that," Nobuyuki replied to her, patting down his bandages once Emma pinned them. "I. . . we have a lot of things going on behind closed doors." Shit. Why did he say 'I'? "But the most important thing now is that you keep safe. Bakemono are Hingan monsters. They are not of this realm. It's our duty to keep people like you from harm." What he meant by 'people like you,' he didn't specify. Maybe what was more accurate was that Nobuyuki needed a bodyguard again.

People like you. Her gaze turns unrelenting -- hard and bright amber. She crosses her arms and steps back to assess him anew. The way he held his battle fans, how he nearly spooked the living shit out of her appearing by her side as he did so, the clear musculature on display marred by scars and new injuries...he had hid much. But part of her -- most of her, to be honest -- deeply respected his ability to keep it all under wraps. Could she have?

"Like me? What, am I a little damsel now?" she asks sharply. "I--"

But then she looks away. Other memories: the smell, the web-like stickiness of the demon's voice, the dead bodies that reminded her too much of Nobu. I can fight just as well as anyone here she wanted to say, but Nobu had been right. She had never faced something like that before and she felt strongly that she had failed some sort of challenge she didn't know she had been set up for. Her shoulders rise up to her ears and she suddenly lets out a sigh, dragging her hands down her face as she does so. Her expression is unusually, obviously pained.

"I ain't running from no more demons," she says, but her voice has lost its hardened edge. "I can't...you know." She gestures vaguely to him, eyes lingering on his burns meaningfully. "I can't be on the backfoot like that again. I gotta..." She crosses her arms again and huffs, struggling to find the words. "Ain't y'all letting people into your club now?"

Pity was a word that Nobuyuki associated with weakness, so it wasn't what he felt for Emma. Intently, he turned, narrowing his eyes as he looked upon Emma. Albeit, his expression softened as he noticed her stoic facade start to unravel.

"You cannot run face-first into such a danger anymore, when we had prepared for moons just to arrive at Kisaragi's location," he responded firmly. "We are blessed that she was successfully trapped inside of the amulet." His bare arms - save for the bandages - came to fold. "It simply won't do that you can protect me or that I protect you. If you have any hope to join Kaen-no-Tsunami, we're going to protect each other. I shall take you as my own bodyguard again, Cho-san permitting. But in return, I must be yours." That was probably not how it worked, but he didn't seem to care all that much.

"You don't have to keep fighting like that," Nobuyuki continued, stepping over to the couch slowly to reach for his shirt. A lump in his throat formed that he quickly swallowed. "At least, so not keep trying to do it alone. We are brothers and sisters. I have come to learn that through hardship."

Emma casts her gaze to the window; her eyes could bore holes into the glass. "Why do you do this?" she asks before she can stop herself. "You--"

She purses her lips. What is she going to say? Why do you want to protect me? Why do you care what happens to me? She feels herself coiling up to strike like a snake -- or perhaps, more accurately, like a bull set to charge, set off by something as vague as colored fabric. Her jaw works anxiously, but heat builds behind her eyes. What a bad time for all that. It's strange, having another person who truly seems to care. So strange, in fact, that she seems to forget how to deal with it.

And anyway, logically...she knew he was right, that she could not charge alone into situations such as this, that they would have to do this on an equal playing field. Something still bothers her, though. "You don't, either, and I gotta wonder sometimes if ye know that, Nobu." The affectionate nickname, one she knows flusters him thanks to its informality, takes out some of the barbed nature of the statement. "I ain't the only one! Look at ye! I know everybody got hurt by that demon spider woman but ye coulda been one of those men who she--"

Ah, nope. She snaps her mouth shut and settles roughly into a chair. No. Sort through the words here. Say what you mean. What do you mean? What's bothering you Emma? What is it?

"I want to...be useful here. To ye and to Cho-san and everybody. But I don't know how."

Nobuyuki squinted. He said nothing throughout Emma's shark responses, but he visibly digested what she was saying. For a moment, his jaw worked. It was easy to say 'I know that,' as he always did, but this time, it was hard to say that when she was wearing an expression so. . . hurt. Then, a fear builds in his stomach. Was she hurt because of him? Was she even hurt at all?

"I am sorry," comes his next reply out of instinct. Hingan culture is apologetic like that, as he hated to force Emma to lose face in front of him. At the same time, she was vulnerable. They were both vulnerable, especially given Nobuyuki's presence of bandages in place of a shirt. His throat feels full again. The feeling that someone didn't view him as a rival, didn't want to see him hurt. . . for so long in the mizu-shobai, it was almost alien to him. Even still, he found friends in the most unlikely of places. His best friend is a Kojin and is found family are in La Noscea.

". . . I do not want to lose you, too," were the words that finally escaped him. "Out of recklessness or lack of attention. That is why I do this." Selfishly, it would be worst of all if it was his or Emma's fault, he thought. Swallowing thickly, he composed himself to continue. "I never said you couldn't come along. I encouraged you to come with us, after all. . . but whether that was a mistake is not for me to decide. It is. . . yours." His eyes are downturned, shirt hanging from his loose grasp.

"Not a mistake," she says quickly, propping her elbows on her knees. She looks askance, sorting through it. Her skin feels warm. I do not want to lose you, too. And so much loss between them -- some of it old, some of it reopened and new. If the Oni's intention was to unsettle the group as well as kill them, it had at least succeeded on the first bit. 

"...it's like, I gotta commit. Y'know? I feel like its Llymlaen sayin' to me, ye been adrift long enough. Choose. But shit, do it gotta be demons?" She gives a small smirk and sighs as she leans back into the chair. She taps the armrest. "...because it do feel like I'm being given a chance. Like I wasn't no mercenary for no reason all those years. Like I got a reason I got all these scars."

Maybe, just maybe, she hadn't become a warrior just to be someone's lackey.

"Clearly I been rusty," she says after a moment, still smirking. "I felt some weird-ass energy in there, like my skin was bubblin'. But not in the burn way. Sorry," she says, glancing to his burns.

For once in the entire discussion, Nobuyuki smiled. It was small, but prominent enough to make his eyes crease.

"That's good," he declared. "I was hoping you would say that." He opened the edges of his shirt to slide it on, wrestling a bit with it as he finally pulling it over his back to button up the front. "I'd thought the same thing, you know. I was perfectly content _not_ spending my life bothering yokai nor being the one bothered, yet here we are." The last button is finished before he moved to take a seat, closing the first aid kit he had on the coffee table. Warily, he paused when she mentioned an energy within her.

"Are you sure it's a safe aether?" he asked, given what they've dealt with. "Nothing from the jorogumo, right?" A pause. "The whore spider." Another pause. "I mean- it's a spider yokai that is also a woman and also she is usually a whore. That is- that's what I meant."

Emma looks upon Nobu thoughtfully and then shrugs. "Shit if I know," she says in her usual blunt way. She squints and sits up again as she gives it another thought. "...she couldn't have like, looked at me and given me a disease or somethin'? Right? Gods, that would be a horrible way to go out...killed by a spider whore lookin' at ye wrong..."

She manages a small smile at that. Well. She wasn't dead yet, so...? That was probably good? "Eh, it didn't feel...like, bad. If that makes sense." Damn, she really knew shit all about aether. "Just like somethin'...like, the sun comin' up but like, a touch o' lightning." That didn't even make much sense to her, in fairness. She shrugs again, this time a bit theatrically. "They don't teach that stuff in Maelstrom trainin', tell ye what."

She chances another long glance at him, as if considering something. "...how did a guy like you end up fightin' yokai with the yazuka or whatever?"

To be fair, that was probably how most of the men died. Nobuyuki did not like this thought. He preferred to address the aether situation first, not considering it to be taken lightly, even if Emma simply wished to reference it in passing.

"A touch of lightning?" he pondered out loud. "It seems. . . stereotypically Ala Mhigan. You're of Ala Mhigan blood, right? Do you have any Ala Mhigans you could ask? I am. . . afraid I cannot help you much. I'm just casting out guesses." He held the sides of his own arms warily, his grip tightening some upon having to address the question.

"I suppose I knew the right people," he replied. "My grandfather was with the Miyamae-gumi. In short, he was yakuza. He died trying to stop the trade of somnus in Nagoya." At times, such a substance seemed tempting to turn to in depression, but he couldn't dishonor the Arashi-gumi in such a way. He couldn't betray their trust, nor betray what his grandfather fought for. "Perhaps I held some twisted sense of honor to uphold. Now I see what chasing it has wrought upon me."

Emma idly scratches around a bandage on her arm. She peers at the floor. Ala Mhigo...coming up again. The mention hits strangely, like a pebble against a drum. Something in her vibrates; she doesn't want to think about it. She doesn't want to think about her father. But...

"I made friends with an ananta actually." She glances back to Nobu to ensure he knows what she is talking about. "They're snake-like beast...women...who're native to Gyr Abania." The term 'beastmen' comes to easily to her mouth despite learning of late that the term isn't really appropriate. "...I could ask her, I guess, but...I dunno...are any of your groupmates from there?"

She was ready to brush it off. But Nobu's concern regarding it triggers her to reconsider and lean harder into following her instinct. It was like nothing she had felt before in battle, really...

Regardless, Nobu's statement regarding the Arashi-gumi prompts her to raise an eyebrow. "But you like these people, right? I do. Even though y'all were apparently criminals." A smirk. "What'd ye think it's wrought, other than you gettin' some burns? And...demon hunting. I giss."

Which...would probably not be in anyone's original imagining of one's self...admittedly... She rubs the back of her neck, as if realizing that in the moments after she spoke. "Probably hard to write plays when a demon is coming after ye."

Nobuyuki's face twisted a moment as he was apparently digesting what she spoke about the Ananta. "They're all female?" Apparently, this was the thing that caught his attention over the fact they were snake people. "Mm. . . there was Doctor Ilya-mona."

He shifted in his seat, leaning on the edge of the sofa a bit. Normally, his posture was stiff and upright, but he seemed more relaxed as of right now. "I've gained families wherever I go. The karyukai, the yakuza. . . neither were where I originally wished to end up, ironically. Or is the word 'coincidentally'?" He folded his arms, but was soon to think against that as he winced at the friction against his burns. "My father's parents were pig farmers. My grandmother still owns the farm as well as a butcher's shop. I don't imagine my grandfather, Ienaka-no-Masayoshi, thought of being yakuza either. It's something done out of necessity, I suppose. People don't do it because they decide they're some kind of fantasy villain or something."

Visibly uncomfortable, Nobuyuki squared his shoulders. What caused this feeling, however, was unapparent. "I think I've told you this before, but I've been refused from some okiya in the past. They preferred to send me to an acting school to become an onnagata, but that doesn't pay as well. Even if I were to become nationally famous, it's likely I'd have to enter into prostitution. Most onnagata do." Then, he waved a hand. "That's a digression. What I mean is that I am Buraku. My father's family is considered 'impure' for working with animals and death." He was quiet a moment, blinking as he looked to the coffee table.

"My parents met when my mother's father was buying meat from my father's family shop. Decades later, I'm born. My father is eta-hinin. 'Impure filth'. Impure from his lineage from a pig farm and filth because he worked in 'dirty' entertainment, writing for kabuki. Hinin can be adopted into another caste, but eta are stuck where they are as they are tainted by death. I am also eta-hinin. Say, if a samurai adopted me, I would bring shame to his family to the point other members of his family would perform seppuku." Flatly, he explained, "They'd kill themselves."

Nobuyuki finally drew a long breath before leaning back. "So, my grandfather turned to the yakuza to run errands to support the family. Disease was killing off their livestock, so they had to turn to racketeering. Even still, my grandfather was seen as a pillar of the community, especially for Burakumin. Do not misunderstand, he was kind and charitable." Wistfully, he smiled. "My father took a lot from him, my grandmother has said. I guess I want to be like that."

At long last, Nobuyuki faced Emma. "Ah. I spoke for quite a long time, didn't I. . . I'm sorry." His fingers intertwined a moment. "I do like the people at Uranami Onsen. Cho-san is caring, even if it doesn't seem that way at times. She is well integrated and knowledgable of Hingan culture. I would not consider her an ijin at all, even if she is foreign-born. She accepts the others, regardless of race and origin. Even selfish people like me. I've no doubt she would accept you."

Emma leans forward once again in her chair, moving only to scratch at the tight bandages on her arms. She squints when he mentions 'impure filth' -- and outright raises her eyebrows when he explains seppuku. For all of Limsa's many faults, there's something to be said for its piratical dedication to a sense of social freedom; there are no kings where there are only outcasts.

"Well that's shit," she says flatly after digesting what he said. "...I mean I don't know much 'bout Hingan culture 'cept what ye told me but. It's pretty shit to have everything stacked against ye before yer even born." But her mouth quirks downward. "Though...being Ala Mhigan, I'm told, is kinda the same thing in some places these days. Not that I know much about that...don't much like goin' to Ul'dah anyway...." 

She rolls her shoulders as she considers the rest of what he said. It isn't like him to speak much. It feels especially important to ensure he feels listened to.

"And for the record, ye ain't selfish," she says gently. "Ye didn't have to help me when...ye know, my Da...happened." Still she struggles to find the words to talk about that. "But ye did. You say ye find families wherever ye go...that's really something. A lot of people don't. Can't." Her gaze turns away at this. She had never been good at it. "It's cuz ye got a goodness to ye I think. Or at the very least...yer good at dealing with people."

She cracks a smile at him, but there's a sadness to it. "I don't got that charm! I just get lucky, sometimes."

For Emma's weary smile, Nobuyuki heart ached. Even though he couldn't keep her fed and sheltered forever, he wasn't sure how else he could repay someone for seeing him for himself. Bashfully, he turned away. "Ie, ie. I just do what I feel needs to be done." In humility, he waved a hand.

He gave Emma his full attention again, considering her mention of being Ala Mhigan. "I suppose they have a less strict hierarchy, correct? The Ala Mhigans, I mean. Everyone is a brother there. Hingashi has our caste system." His brows furrowed gently. "Do tell me if I'm wrong. I do not wish to let romantic ideas cloud my judgment."

Nobuyuki's fingers graced the bandages on his chest that peaked from the collar of his shirt, contemplating scratching the area but chose against it. "Well-" Mayhaps you've charmed me. No, that wasn't right. Even to be said jokingly. "You're just the roguish type, right?" He selected his words carefully. 'Harsh in the-', no. 'Rough around the-', no.

"You're charming to me," he declared. The words came much faster and much more direct than he anticipated. "I like being watched over by you," he continued. What is he saying? "To be whisked away on an adventure by the rough seafaring sort. . . many people have such a dream. You just need to find the right people." Stop. Finally, his lips parted, realizing what he's said. "I'm sorry. That came out more forward than I would like. . ."

As to the topic of Ala Mhigo, she manages another shrug, which turns into another shoulder stretch. She may be vastly experienced lifting heavy axes, but it still takes a toll on the body. "So I hear. I was thinkin' more of...how other cities treat 'em as refugees." She gestures upward with one palm. "He ne'er told me much bout Ala Mhigo or leavin' it...my Da I mean...but I get the sense ye don't become a drunkard nobody in La Noscea because its yer best option, if ye see what I mean."

She examines her fingernails for a moment, battling the innate, daughter response that wishes to empathize with him and his plight. She wasn't stupid; Ala Mhigo and his experience there drove him to drink, that much she'd figured out -- and the sickness her mother had contracted prior to their escape from their homeland is ultimately what killed her. But still. Fuck.

She is in the midst of brooding about this when Nobu makes his supposedly forward declaration. She looks up, blinking, her hard facade utterly lost for a moment before she brightens into a sheepish, genuine smile. Her face is tinged orange. "How'd ye guess that's how I got into the Marauder profession? I thought to meself...I know what will land all the lads and lasses...becoming a demon with an axe!" She laughs, mostly at her own expense. She's always making dumbass jokes around him. She hasn't acted like that since she was 16 and boisterously cavorting with the boys her age who were sent to Limsa for errands like her. Learning that not all of them were interested in a girl who was brash and broad.

She scratches the back of her neck. His apology at least gives her an in to say something not totally dumb. "Ye know I don't track things like that," she says gently. "I like when yer a bit more wild around me. Gods know ye can be." A wink. "Yer quick with the fans. You know I nearly elbowed you for spookin' me when ye appeared next to me! Lucky for you I was busy bashing a door in!" Her smile remains, soft and inviting.

Nobuyuki turned away a moment at the discussion of the refugee crisis. Solemnly, a curled hand rose to his chest. "I wish there was a way I could do more for refugees in Kugane," he admitted. "Maybe I cannot do much alone, but. . . I can with Kaen-no-Tsunami and I can with you." He perked up. "It might be a bit naive, but mayhaps you could learn more of your heritage this way. Through the Ananta and through monster hunting."

Realizing the effects of his admittance, Nobuyuki's gaze is cast aside, his cheeks a light pink. It wasn't because of the burns this time. "I suppose I have to admit it then. That. . . I like if you were my bodyguard again, even if I'm not longer an idol." He narrowly avoided just saying that he wanted her to protect him, but found a way to navigate his wants. Or were they needs?

"Ah, I'm sorry. I did not mean to startle you, but perhaps. . ." He appeared contemplative once more. "Perhaps we balance each other out? You deal with heavy weapons on the front lines and I manage through subterfuge and support. You know, I've found that weapon curious, the axe. . . albeit it's considered barbaric to Hingans. I guess my family is as well, so it's only fitting, even if I can't wield it myself. You managed to get us out at the right time, especially when some of us were in dire need of medical care." Himself included, but not mentioned. "You're very proficient. That is why I like having you as my bodyguard." He folded his arms firmly. "I-If Cho-san so allows it. Though, we are ryoshi and thus equals. . . so maybe we can just. . . be a team instead? N-Not that I need one, of course." He preened a little bit. Stupid.

Emma makes a show of looking thoughtful -- hand to chin, eyebrow raised, distant expression, the works. The closest the stoic woman comes to true japery. "Monster hunting...hmm. I think I could swing it. Might even be better at that than servin' up at the Onsen bar, whaddya think?"

She gives him a wry smile, though partly to mask the silly flip her heart makes, seeing him blush. There's a certain satisfaction to flustering him that makes her feel light inside, like a sail in the wind. Like a seabird with nothing but sky. 

To his commentary on the axe, she nods and gestures forward with her hand as if to say 'you understand.' "Half the power o' the axe is in the intimidation factor, I always did think. You don't look at someone competently wielding an axe and immediately assume you can fuck with 'em. Plus...it's good for bashing doors in." 

She places an elbow on the arm of the chair and leans her head into her palm, observing him carefully. Proficient. That's a new one. It's so painfully Nobu that she has to swallow back a good-natured laugh. Her eyes near twinkle. It's about as close as 'please still be close with me' that either of them could likely say. "Listen, if ye can help me not make a fool of myself in front o' the Onsen regulars, and ye have, I can ... be your bodyguard teammate. I think that's fair, eh? Think of it as paying you back."

She rubs her temple with the hand propped up on the chair and her smile fades to something more neutral and open. "I...don't know what to expect, huntin' creatures, but...if you're doing it, I've gotta be there. I just...feel like I should."

She squints at herself and looks away, her inability to express herself fully making itself quite known.

Leaning back, Nobuyuki rested his gaze upon Emma. Stubbornly, his arms came to cross. "I know you want to make fun of me," he declared. Albeit, even if she did, he wouldn't wound his pride in the slightest. This was something he could possibly never bring himself to admit. "I'm. . . I'm only giving you this one chance to be my teammate. It's because it suits you. I wouldn't trust anyone else as much to protect me."

Weakly, Nobuyuki smiled. It was a longing smile that creased the corners of the surgical tape on his face. "Maybe I'll make less of a fool of myself on the battlefield and you'll be less of a fool at the onsen. Not to say you are. . . but we even each other out. That should be. . . maybe. . ." Something to be proud of? He so desired to say such, but it wouldn't come out. "Never mind. It's usually that people like me aren't made for the battlefield, but that doesn't mean we can't be built up to be. Likewise, the battle-hardened can learn domestic affairs. Our start isn't our end, my father always said."

He was quiet for a while then, gaze shifting from the table to Emma. "I. . . I wouldn't allow you to join me if it was anybody else but you." Quickly, his eyes flickered away, his form sinking into the back of the sofa. "S-So, don't take it for granted. . . alright?"

She feels her body begin to grow heavy in the chair, the adrenaline from the evening finally beginning its full departure...due in no small part to settling the air with Nobu, some part of her realizes. A relief that she still hasn't fucked this up, somehow. One of the first real, true friendships she'd made in...an embarrassingly long time. She smiles under his scrutinizing gaze -- and gestures assent to 'I know you want to make fun of me' because, well, she means well...

Her lids grow heavy as she regards him. "Aye. We're more flexible than most people think, that's my thinkin anyroad...or so I've come to realize..." Another thing in no small part thanks to him. Damn. She owed him a good bit! Quietly, she resolves to ensure to pay him back, no matter how long it takes. Maybe a good couple long years! That's not so horrible.

She fake 'toasts' to him in the air. Take it for granted? Heh. Her smile deepens. Little does he know how impossible that is for her. "You got it, boss," she says warmly. "I'm in your corner, spider bitches be damned."


End file.
